Quantification and molecular profiling of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in urothelial cancer (UC) before and during systemic treatment: Implications across the clinical stages.

319 Background: CTCs from patients (pts) at different clinical stages were analyzed by a never explored experimental approach based on a combination of two techniques. Provision of this information may contribute to optimize tailored therapies. Methods: 3 cohorts were analyzed: pts with muscle-invasive bladder cancer receiving neoadjuvant (NA) sorafenib + chemotherapy (CT) (NCT01222676), and metastatic (M1) pts receiving 1st-line MVAC, and 2nd-line (M2) anti-TGFβ receptor ALK1 PF-03446962 (NCT01620970). 5 ml of whole blood were filtered by ScreenCell Cyto devices and CTC status was assessed with centralized scoring by referral pathologists. Additional 5 ml of whole blood were processed by immunomagnetic beads (AdnaTestSelect kit) and the expression level of a panel of markers (including EPCAM and MUC1) was studied using RT-multiplex PCR. The objective was the association with clinical response/relapse. Results: From 07/2012 to 08/2013, 48 pts (17 NA, 17 M1, and 14 M2) were enrolled. Rates of baseline CTC+...